AVOIDING THE BLACK CHAIRS (AND DOING WHAT YOU LOVE INSTEAD OF WHAT EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING)
I recently had an opportunity to catch up with a friend who co-owns a restaurant. She was telling me about the new chairs she recently purchased for her restaurant. As she put it, "It's easy to pick the same old black chairs that are in all the catalogs. But I wanted to put some more thought into it." And she did. The chairs are awesome - fun and unique and completely aligned with the vibe of the restaurant.
The same is true for entrepreneurship. For leadership. For speaking and coaching and doing the thing we do. It's easy to do what everyone else is doing. It's easy to look around the catalog and pick the black chairs. Because more or less, the black chairs are successful. They aren't offensive. They're easy to find. While people may not *love* the black chairs, at least they don't have strong feelings against them.
And before we know it, we're seeing those same damn black chairs everywhere we look. Each of them exactly the same.
The question I found myself pondering during and after this conversation was, what becomes possible when we set aside the catalog?
What happens when we stop looking at all of the other restaurants' standard black chairs?
What happens when, instead, we tap into our deepest passions and the things that make our *own* heart sing?
For my friend, the result was beautifully designed, unique, and fun. For the event I led that day, the result included some Madonna and some Katy Perry.
What is your version of the chair that makes your heart sing....the version of the chair that has nothing to do with everyone else's standard black chairs....the version of the chair that is completely, uniquely you?
